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Video essay by Jellybox about what's good and bad about indie animation!

Wanted to share this in case it's helpful to anyone wanting to pursue making animation independently. It's also for fans of indie animation who may want some insight into how an indie studio works, why indie cartoons are always selling merch, why release schedules are often erratic, etc.

I also wanted to clarify the video's context, because it seems to have been somewhat misconstrued in some circles. Not long ago, WGA and SAG strikes, followed by TAG negotiations were very much in the news, shining light on the struggles the artists, writers, and actors in the Hollywood studio system are facing. In response, the words 'just go indie' have been tossed around quite a bit lately.

Gene and Sean at Jellybox approached us a few months back explaining that they were planning to make a video about the realities of running an indie studio/producing indie animation, largely in response to that 'just go indie' attitude. They were curious if we'd be willing to share our experience, including information about actual costs and the various difficulties and complications we've encountered. We said yes! We'd like for people to know what it's like. As much as it might look appealing next to the currently very broken studio system, indie has its own set of problems, and we think it's a good idea to be transparent about that because talking about problems is how you begin to address them.

Of course, while you get creative freedom and you have no shareholders to appease with indie production, the primary struggle you're always going to face is funding…and funding avenues are limited. Banks aren't eager to hand out business loans to freelance artists making cartoons, for instance. Social media algorithms reward frequent updates you can't swing with hand-drawn animated content, so you can't rely much on things like AdSense. You can't really insert sponsored ads into your animated videos without being too obtrusive. You can take on client work, but that interferes with your ability to focus on own animated project. Crowdfunds can be great for seed money, but they're also a ton of work to fulfill, and fulfillment itself will tend to eat up a considerable amount of the funds you've raised. Once your animation is produced, there is no well established way to sell the animated episode itself like there is for, say indie games sold on Steam. So, while we consider ways to try to make the terrain a bit more hospitable to indie creations, if nothing else, let this explain why productions rely a lot on merch drops!

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And hey, if you're an animation fan, consider supporting the independent productions you enjoy, whether you're tossing a few dollars their way, buying their merch, or just mentioning them to friends:

The Far-Fetched team is launching a crowdfund very soon to help them complete their pilot!

The Monkey Wrench team is killing it lately, and they deserve so much more fanfare than they've gotten!

And of course, thank you to the excellent folks at Jellybox for starting an important conversation!

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when did “lmao” become shorthand or w/e for “i’m fucking suffering”

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Acknowledging that “critical thinking” means “thinking about things in a thorough way from different perspectives” and not “finding every flaw in a thing and fixating on it until all the joy is gone” is so liberating.

It’s supposed to be about intellectual curiosity, not about finding ways to devalue things that aren’t perfect or that we personally dislike.

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one of my recurring dream settings is my grandma's old Huber home back in Moraine. The dream version is often a lot bigger on the inside with multiple floors that didn't exist, but the front door, back door, bathroom, and backyard are 1:1 to reality.

usually I know what my dreams mean, but not these.

I think I might finally have a handle on what this one keeps getting at after last night.

(under a cut for dream rambling)

A lot of Grandma's House dreams lately have had to do with me meant to inherit it, but someone else intercepts and razes it to sell the land. Last night was a particularly violent version of it.

This time, I was moving into it with my family, but halfway through a huge construction crew began disassembling it while we were still in it. I had to dodge machines and pick my way across falling walkways over massive empty pits to get out.

They were going to put up a shopping center in its place, and had a whiteboard. People were encouraged to leave thank-you messages for the coming development. I wrote "Thanks for killing my grandmother's house" in streaky black marker, which scandalized some mom and her kids, then I stormed off.

After I woke up, I realized these are dreams about uncontrollable forces violating my will—my comfort and sense of well-being in particular. It finally clicked for me after I ended the work day past my limit wrt constantly being interrupted and people cutting through our work area (we moved desks recently, and it's been ADHD hell. I've asked for a privacy screen for accommodation). This frustration on top of everything currently going on in the US led to a Not Fun night. Usually the "my wants and needs are being trod upon" dreams manifest as people forcing their way into my doors and windows (the movie "Mother!" felt like it had been mined from my subconscious), and usually take place in either a more realistic version of Grandma's house, or one of the identical Huber homes we lived in when I was growing up (i.e. when I last had the least control over my own life).

This one was the first where the destruction of Grandma's house was happening while I was living in it, AND the first I was able to express my anger at the parties responsible instead of just having to deal with it. That was the final clue as to what my mind was really trying to work through.

The autonomy I was always told I could have growing up was never really in my hands. I'm at the mercy of employers for food and shelter, and of government for safety. And our government is too susceptible to the whims of oligarchs too far separated from my stratum of society to guarantee that safety will be respected. Even now, they're pillaging us because our government officials have shown they won't actually enforce the law. Not even the barest minimum of it.

anyway. This is all nothing new to anyone paying attention. I just am glad I finally decoded one of the many stress SOS messages my subconscious has been trying to get through for decades. Not much I can do about it on the individual level, brain, but we'll try.

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I wish we could teach each other how to love the way we can teach animals that aren’t supposed to be able to feel it.

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I wasn't allowed to watch Ren & Stimpy because Mom found it repulsive, so I think I missed out on whatever subversive charm it had at the time. I wasn't really a fan of grossout humor anyway, but I do admit some curiosity simply because it was Verboten at our house. I was a super obedient kid, though, so I changed the channel whenever it came on.

Funnily enough, the Simpsons was just fine. I think I was the only one in our family who actually watched it, tbh.

Did your parents forbid you from watching certain cartoons? 

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this may shock the viewer but I actually do prefer the temporary violence the bourgeoisie will suffer in the event of a revolution over the unending and worse violence the working class suffers every day just to maintain the status quo

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this too shall pass but like… when

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Granny and her kitties 😼

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Thinking about how every major city (except fort worth) in Texas is blue, votes democrat in every election, is majority liberal/left-leaning. It's driving me insane okay. The majority of Texans live in or around the major cities. Land does not vote.

75% of Texans live in BLUE!!!

This makes me want to put a toaster in the bath tub okay bye!!!

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Conflicted thoughts from my coworkers on Jetfire having wheels

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[Commission: Drago Protogen Form]

A new commission completed for @\Mockisho This is my first go at doing a Protogen design of any kind, it was a lot of fun.